Clamp for railway-rails



UNITED. STATES JESSE LOCKHART, OF NIANTIC, ILLINOIS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Lettera Patent N o. 327.285, dated September 29, 1885'.

Application ned Mtyis, less. (Neuman.)

To all whom it may con/cern:

Be it known that I, JEssE LOCKHART, a resident of the town of Niantic, county of Macon, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clamps for Railway-Rails, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention isto improve -the device set ,forth in the patent granted to me June 3, 1884, No.' 299,557, by simplifying the construction and increasing the effectiveness of the same.

The result attained by the use of this invention is the same as that set forth in the above-mentioned patent, the rails being secured from lateral displacement by the clamps, and said clamps are capable of being attached to the'track'ut any point without removing" size and conformation to fit over the flange of .the rail.

c is a rod of suitable length to extend-from side to side of the railway-track, provided with a rigid head on one end and a threaded nut on the'other.

d are pins that pass through the rod c, and prevent any tendency the rails may have to approach each other.

e are sliding clamp-jaws that fit over the plain ends of bars b and embrace the outer flanges of the rails.

fis a nut on rod c, audf is a solid head on the opposite end of the same.

b is a shoulder on the plain end of a clampbar, and its function is to hold therail laterally, thereby leaving the sliding jaws e free to provideagainst vertical displacement. The shoulder b, is embraced by the perforation in e, which completelyincloses the same, but

all lateral strain in the rail bears directly against the shoulder, thereby avoiding displacement of the clamp-jaw e The clamp-bars b are each provided with a longitudinal aperture suiciently large to free# ly ad mit the rod c, and the clamp is applied;

to the tiack substantially in the following' manner: The nut f is removed from the rod, and its adjacent clamp-jaw e is removed from bar b. The pins d are drawn out of the rod, and theclamp-bars b are slid toward the center of the rod, after which the device is placed under the rails as indicated in Fig. 5. To complete the attachment, the clamp-'bars are reslid vinto position against the rails, the sliding jaw e and the nut f are readjusted,. and the pins are placed in position against the clampars. 'By introducing my devicei'na new road ties of 'soft timber can beuscd with good results, as wood may be -tirm enough to sustain the rails and their load and still not be able to hold the spikes suiicient-ly firm to prevent lateral displacement :in the rails; also, old ties thpt will not hold spikes can still be made serviceable if secured as set forth.

Another advantage resultingl from the use of my invention is the saving in material and labor, as but a small number of spikes need be used, and the track can be kept Iin condition with a .far less'amount of labor.

What is generally termed spreading7 ofl the track,by means'of which railway accidents are of common occurrence, is in reality a tipping of the top of the rail by pressure from thetrain, and this motion, whenever it occurs, acts as a lever to draw the inside spikes,`

and thereby permit the rail to become detached'.

' By the useof my device `the rails are .se-

cured against any. pscilla'ling motion, and the pressure that wouldx-easilydraw the spikes, with the enormous ilellerage that a tipping rail affords, would be completely restrained by my lclamps fitted firmly around an iron rod.

I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent- 1.' The combination, in a clamp for railwayrails, of rod c, provided with rigid head f and nut-f, clamp-bars b, provided with rigid jaws I g, and sliding clamps on clamp-bars b, as

and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, in a clanlpfl'or railwaya suitable device Ifor preventing. the olamp- 1o bars from'approaehin-g each other on ghe rod7 as and for the purpose seb forth.

b, as and for the pur- In testimony whereof Iv sign my namein the mils, of rod c, provided with rigid head f and nut f, clamp-bars b, povided withv shoulder b' and rigid .ja-Wely, and sliding clamps e on elzimpba-rs pose set forth.

presence of two Subscribing Witnesses. 3. The combination, in a eimiip for milwoy- JESSE LOCKHART. rails, of rod c, vpioviiied with rigid head f Attest: and iiut f. ciempbars b, provided with rigid G. C. CLARK, jaws g, sliding clamps e on chimp-bars b, and i .S. S. JACK.. 

